RPG Board Games?

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

I read [url=http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/09/castle-ravenloft-the-fourth-edition-horror-dd-board-game-of-doom.ars]this article[/url] today and it got me thinking.  (If you read the comments, you’ll see I asked a similar question there.)

Anyhow, a bunch of us (male and female, mostly couples) get together every so often for “game nights” and I was thinking that it might be fun for some RPG style gaming to replace our regular board games, which we tire of very quickly.  Now, the thing is that just about none of us have done any D&D gaming, so we’re looking for something which is easy to learn, quick to set up, can be finished in 1-3 hours, and encourages interactions, so that no one gets bored.  I’m thinking co-op play would be best to get the interactive piece.  Something which does not require a skillful (or any) DM would be very desirable.

Anyone have a suggestion?

[jrandeck]

I’ve never seen or played a GM-less RPG.  IMO, the simpler the rules, the more important it is for the GM to have control of the situation and being willing and able to adjudicate all of the oddball situations that come up.  IMO pretty much any rule system can be fun and engaging with the right GM.  It’s all about how well they can lay out the scenarios and often good storytelling is the key.

OK, that said, have you looked at the “How To Host A Murder” games?  I think those fit most of your requirements, but I’ve never played one.  As I understand it they’re basically canned mysteries and each player is given certain clues and they need to discuss things with other players to put the clues together and solve the mystery.

There are also some co-op boardgames out there if you haven’t tried them.  They tend to be light on the role-playing aspect but require coordination between the players to beat the board.  I haven’t played the D&D board game (nothing recent anyway) so I can’t say how good that is, but some others that I’ve played are Shadows Over Camelot, Arkham Horror, and Pandemic.  They might be worth looking into.

[robinhoody]

I used to work with a big RPG game board guy and he always said if your not a huge board gamer, and want to try a good one play settlers.  He said it was fun for male and females, since D&D is more geared men.

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/the-settlers-of-catan

I’ve wanted to play it but never have.  Maybe when winter comes around

[jrandeck]

Settlers is  a good game.  Lots of interaction since you need to trade resources with other players to get what you need.

[mikinho]

Arkham Horror is fun but takes a few times playing to really enjoy.  Niagara is an easy game and fun as well.

I’m going to have to try Settlers, we have a few neighbors that we get together and have board game nights as well.

I’ve tried to get a game of Risk going but my wife says I’m too competitive and wants to stay friends with the people coming over.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

[quote=”Mikinho”]
Arkham Horror is fun but takes a few times playing to really enjoy.  Niagara is an easy game and fun as well.

I’m going to have to try Settlers, we have a few neighbors that we get together and have board game nights as well.[/quote]

I’ve been researching all the suggestions so far and none have really ‘grabbed’ me yet.  I was really hoping for something more D&D-like, but I don’t know that any of us would make good DMs, which is what made me ask about something which didn’t require one, like Castle Ravenloft.  I’ll have to go check out Arkham Horror now.

[quote]I’ve tried to get a game of Risk going but my wife says I’m too competitive and wants to stay friends with the people coming over.
[/quote]

LMAO!  I can relate to that.  I can be a sore loser at times, which is why I was looking for co-op play, rather than player vs. player.  I used to love Risk, but only against the computer.  I’m trying to stay away from RTS games, since I’ve never really cared for them overall.  The whole thing with resources and trading just begs of boredom in my mind, which is why the original Warcraft games lost my interest pretty quickly.  It was just the same darn thing, over and over.

Keep the ideas coming, as I’m enjoying learning about all these games!

[Author]

Posts